Electrical pin contact elements are known from the prior art. The pin contact elements are used, for example, to connect an electrical system of a car to the battery or accumulator thereof. In the case of electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles which are partially or completely driven by electric current, very large currents and/or voltages are transmitted via the connector elements and consequently the plug type contacts fitted therein. The pin contact elements may be so-called flat or round contacts. Flat contacts have the advantage over round contacts that they can generally be used in two different insertion directions or in the case of angled (90°) and straight (180°) plug type connectors, whereas different types have to be provided for the two types of plug type connectors in the case of round contacts, which increases the number of different components to be produced and stored for the plug type connectors.
A large number of connector elements for which contact of the contact elements is intended to be prevented in various manners are known from the prior art. The contact elements themselves may be provided with contact protection members or be concealed by means of movable contact protection devices when the plug type connectors are in an open state so that they comply with the corresponding standards or provisions for contact protection.
For example, the publication DE 10 2010 035 943 A1 discloses a plug type connector for high-voltage applications having a housing, on which electrically insulating walls are formed and project beyond the upper edges and lateral edges of a flat connector pin which is retained by the housing to such an extent that a human finger is intended to be able to touch the edges of the walls without achieving touching contact with the flat connector pin. Such a contact element, however, is complex to produce and susceptible to failure.